Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698942471661.pdf (Zambia)
REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNANCE, HOUSING AND CHIEFS’ AFFAIRS ON THE REPORT OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL ON THE PERFORMANCE AUDIT ON MANAGEMENT OF ELECTRONIC WASTE IN ZAMBIA FOR THE FIRST SESSION OF THE THIRTEENTH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY Published by the National Assembly of Zambia REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNANCE, HOUSING AND CHIEFS’ AFFAIRS ON THE REPORT OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL ON THE PERFORMANCE AUDIT ON MANAGEMENT OF ELECTRONIC WASTE IN ZAMBIA FOR THE FIRST SESSION OF THE THIRTEENTH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 1.0 2.0 2.0 4.0 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.4 5.6 6.0 6.1.1 6.1.2 6.3.0 6.4.0 6.5.0 6.6.0 6.7.0 7.0 Membership of the Committee............................................................................. 1 Functions of the Committee ................................................................................ 1 Meetings of the Committee .................................................................................. 1 Procedure adopted by the Committee ................................................................... 1 Auditor General’s Comments................................................................................... 1 Background to the Audit ...................................................................................... 2 Motivation of the Audit ....................................................................................... 2 Audit Objective ................................................................................................... 2 Audit Scope and Coverage................................................................................... 2 Audit Questions ................................................................................................... 3 Sources of Assessment Criteria ............................................................................ 3 Summary of submissions by stakeholders on the audit findings and Committee’s Observations and Recommendations.................................................................... 3 Lack of a Legal Framework governing the management of electronic waste in Zambia ................................................................................................................ 4 Gaps in the Regulations on the Management of e-waste generated at the domestic level .................................................................................................................... 6 Lack of strategic plans for appropriate authorities in e-waste management .......... 9 Standards for imported electronic goods ............................................................ 10 Lack of facilities to handle e-waste in Zambia ................................................... 11 Public awareness on e-waste management and capacity building ...................... 13 Maintenance of a Central Environment Information System .............................. 14 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 15 i REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNANCE, HOUSING AND CHIEFS’ AFFAIRS ON THE REPORT OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL ON THE PERFORMANCE AUDIT ON MANAGEMENT OF ELECTRONIC WASTE IN ZAMBIAFOR THE FIRST SESSION OF THE THIRTEENTH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 1.0 Membership of the Committee The Committee consisted of Mr Bowman C Lusambo, MP (Chairperson),Mrs Maureen Mabonga, MP (Vice Chairperson); Mr Newton Samakayi, MP; Mr Tyson Simuzingili, MP; Mr Luhamba Mwene, MP; MrTwambo Elvis Mutinta, MP; Mr Christopher Shakafuswa, MP; Dr Simon Mwale, MP; Mr Kenny Siachisumo, MP and Mr Remember ChandaMutale, MP.
The Honourable Madam Speaker National Assembly Parliament Buildings LUSAKA Madam The Committee has the honour to present its Report on the Report of the Auditor General on the Performance Audit on Management of Electronic Waste in Zambia for the First Session of the Thirteenth National Assembly.
2.0 Functions of the Committee The functions of the Committee on Local Governance, Housing and Chiefs’ Affairs are set out in Standing OrdersNo.197 (i) and 198 of the National Assembly of Zambia Standing Orders, 2021.

3.0 Meetings of the Committee The Committee held seven meetings to consider submissions on the Report of the Auditor General on the Performance Audit on Management of Electronic Waste in Zambia for the First Session of the Thirteenth National Assembly.
4.0 Procedure adopted by the Committee The Committee requested detailed memoranda from relevant stakeholders and invited them to make oral submissions and clarifications on issues arising from their submissions.

The list of stakeholders who made submissions before the Committee is attached at Appendix II.
4.0 Auditor General’s Comments The Auditor General reported that the Performance Audit Report on Management of Electronic Waste in Zambia was for the Period 2016 to 2020in accordance with the Provisions of Article 250 of the 1 Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act, No.

2 of 2016, Public Audit Act, No.

13 of 1994 and the Public Finance Management Act, No.

1 of 2018.
1 of 2018.

5.1 Background to the Audit The Committee was informed that electronic waste was among the fastest growing waste streams across the World fuelled by increasing growth in the use of electronic equipment.

Levels of domestically produced electronic waste (e-waste) were also rising across Africa as a result of increased electronic goods consumption.

Further, most African countries lacked the capacity to handle and recycle the hazardous materials contained in e-waste.
Consequently, the common practice of disposal of e-waste on dumpsites presented a source of environmental pollution and health challenges for countries that did not have systems for e-waste management.
Furthermore, the magnitude and implications of e-waste were recognised in two International Treaties that Zambia was a signatory to and those were: the Basel Convention of 1989 where member states agreed to ensure that disposal of hazardous waste was consistent with the protection of human health and the environment whatever the place of their disposal and the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development Goals.
5.2 Motivation of the Audit The Committee was informed that e-waste was hazardous as it contained toxic chemicals which could expose people to a range of health risks and lead to environmental threats.

It was further reported that electric and e-waste consisted of obsolete electric and electronic equipment such as computers, television sets, mobile phones, printers, flash disks, florescent tubes and white electronic goods such as refrigerators.
Furthermore, media reports had shown that there had been importation of electrical and electronic products below the prescribed acceptable standards for electronic goods.

In addition, environmentalists had also expressed concern that if the Government did not develop measures to manage e-waste, the country could continue facing challenges in the management of e-waste which was exacerbated by the observed challenges in the provision of safely managed sanitation services in Zambia.
5.3 Audit Objective The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and the Ministry responsible for Environmental Protection which was at the time of the audit the Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection but currently the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment together with other appropriate authorities in managing electric and e-waste in Zambia.
5.4 Audit Scope and Coverage The audit covered the period 2016- 2020.
The institutions that were engaged were the Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection, Ministry of Local Government 2 and Rural Development, Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA), Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS) and Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA).The sample size consisted of eighteen out of 116 local authoritiesand twenty-five franchised companies and dumpsites in the country.
The selection was purposively selected based on the identification of the stakeholders in the management of electronic waste.

5.5 Audit Questions The audit questions were as follows: i.

What measure has the Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection and the appropriate authorities put in place regarding an effective legal, policy and institutional framework for management of electronic waste in Zambia?

ii.
ii.

What infrastructure and information has the Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection and the appropriate authorities put in place to manage electronic waste?

iii.

To what extent has the Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection and other key stakeholders conducted capacity building training, awareness and educational campaigns to introduce the hazardous effects of electronic waste to the public and institutions?
5.6 Sources of Assessment Criteria The assessment criteria was drawn from: i.

The Basel Convention 1989; ii.

The Sustainable Development Goals; iii.

The Seventh National Development Plan 2017-2021; iv.

Environmental Management Act, No.

12 of 2011; v. vi.

The Local Government Act, No.

2 of 2019.

Solid Waste Regulation and Management Act, No.


20 of 2018; and 4.1 Summary of Submissions by Stakeholders on the Audit Findings and Committee’s Observations and Recommendations The Committee considered submissions from the identified stakeholders including the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment.

For ease of reference, each audit finding is followed by the submissions by stakeholders and the observations and recommendations made by the Committee as set out below.
3 6.1.1 Lack of a Legal Framework Governing the Management of Electronic Waste in Zambia Audit Findings The Auditor General’s Report indicated that the Ministry responsible for Environmental Protection and the appropriate authorities had not established effective legal, policy and institutional framework for the management of electronic waste as there was no specific legislation on electronic waste management.
Despite appropriate authorities having the mandate to formulate electronic waste management regulations and/ or by-laws, they had not done that.

The Auditor General recommended that there was need to develop laws to manage electronic waste in a sustainable manner in compliance with the provisions of the Basal Convention.
Submissions by Stakeholders The Committee was informed that there was need to formulate and enact legislation at national level, which stipulated mandatory compliance with specific guidelines of e-waste disposal plans.

Records as indicated by Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) showed that importation of electric and electronic goods stood at 4,654 tonnes in 2020 and 4,337 tonnes in 2021.

The imported electric and electronic goods meant that they had to be disposed of at some point.
In that regard, electric and electronic products in the country, needed to be traced from entrance into the market to disposal.

That could be done through the development of a national electronic device records management system.

There was already technology available which used block chain to trace a product from manufacturer or importer to reseller, then consumer and ultimately disposed of.
Further, a location in each province, preferably provincial headquarters, could be designated for the setting up of e- waste disposal centre which would be designed with proper prescribed technology for the destruction of the waste which could not be recycled.

Further, each of the Government ministries and agencies with a role in the disposal of e-waste would have to be compelled to come up with policies regarding the disposal of e-waste.
They would also need to have strategies which addressed e-waste disposal in their strategic plans.

In addition, an explicit legislation was required to guide the management of e-waste.

The draft guidelines developed by ZICTA in conjunction with ZEMA and ZABS in 2015, and launched in 2020 also needed to be reviewed with stakeholders and a roadmap for implementation developed.
The guidelines if developed would be helpful in classifying different types of e- waste, as well as in highlighting the environmental and health risk that each type posed.

Such guidelines could also help institutions with the relevant steps required in disposing of e-waste in a safer manner.

Once the guidelines were implemented, sensitisation of the general public, institutions and other stakeholders was important to ensure compliance.
Submission by the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment The Committee was informed that there were no explicit regulations on e-waste.

However, the regulation of e-waste was part of the Environmental Management (Licencing) Regulations, 4 Statutory Instrument No.

112 of 2013 (the Licensing Regulations), under the hazardous waste regulations.
The definition of hazardous waste covered e-waste, which category had been specifically identified as a waste stream under the fifth to seventh schedules of the Licensing Regulations.

Part IV of the Licensing Regulations provided for licensing of the generation, transportation, storage, handling, pre-treatment, treatment, handling, export, import, trade in transit and disposal of hazardous waste which included e-waste.
Hazardous waste licences were accompanied with appropriate conditions to guide the licensee in undertaking the licensed activities.

This included instances of licences issued for e-waste as part of hazardous waste.

The Committee was further informed that ZEMA was collecting data on e-waste but was not using it as it should to manage e-waste because if the law was to be enforced based on that data, no company could be operating due to stringent requirements.
Submission by the Ministry of Science and Technology The Committee was informed that in its current form, the Information and Communication Technologies Act, No.

15 of 2009 did not empower the regulator, ZICTA to issue regulations or guidelines relating to e-waste.

Despite that limitation, ZICTA had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ZEMA and had developed draft E-waste Management Guidelines that addressed the issues highlighted by the Auditor General’s Report.
Further, to address the lack of in-house e-waste management practices by Information Communication Technology (ICT) licensees, ZICTA approved the development and establishment of special licence conditions which would enable them to introduce specific e-waste management and mitigating strategies.

Committee’s Observations and Recommendations i.

The Committee agrees with most stakeholders who rightly observed that there was no explicit legal framework that governed the management of electronic waste.
The Committee also notes that the management of e-waste under the Environmental Management (Licencing) Regulations, Statutory Instrument No.

112 of 2013 (the Licensing Regulations), under hazardous waste regulations deals with non-electronic and electronic waste.

This has made the Statutory Instrument ineffective in dealing with specific electronic waste which had been lumped under hazardous waste.
In view of this, the Committee recommends that the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment through ZEMA comes up with a principal legislation on electronic waste management.

This legislation should be enforceable with penalties so that big generators of e-waste such as the Government and private corporate entities should adhere to it without fail.

The legislation so developed should also be the guiding legislation for in- house formulation of policies on e-waste by various generators of e-waste.

5 ii.
5 ii.

The Committee further recommends that once the principal legislation is formulated and enforced, guidelines developed by ZICTA in conjunction with ZEMA and ZABS which were launched in 2020 on e-waste should also be reviewed to conform to the e-waste specific legislation as this would reduce ambiguity in enforcement and apportionment of blame by agencies and authorities involved in the handling of e-waste when the law is spelt out distinctively.
6.1.2 Gaps in the Regulations on the Management of E-waste Generated at the Domestic Level Audit findings The audit report revealed that there was no clear understanding of e-laws on e-waste management among handlers.
Submissions by Stakeholders The Committee was informed that to effectively come up with laws that reduced gaps in the management of e-waste generated at domestic level, an in-depth assessment on the gaps in policy and legislation on e-waste, quantities and types of e-waste generated and disposed of by different categories of players in the country needed to be conducted.

The assessment would provide enough information to guide the scope of the policy and regulatory framework.
In addition, stakeholders submitted that the Ministry responsible for environmental protection and ZEMA, in collaboration with local authorities, were required to develop guidelines on e- waste generation, segregation, collection, handling, storage, transportation, categorisation, treatment, recycling and final disposal including the after care of e-waste disposal sites.

The guidelines should be based on the policy and regulatory framework which would be put in place.
Submission by the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment The Committee was informed that in line with the general guidelines, ZEMA encouraged all licensed entities to ensure that waste was segregated at the point of generation.

As such, licensed entities collecting waste at domestic level needed to ensure that waste was segregated at the source of the waste.
Further, ZEMA was mandated to regulate the handling of hazardous waste, including e-waste from all sources as provided for under Part IV of the Licensing Regulations.

The actual collection, transportation, treatment or recycling was done by various regulated entities.

In addition, waste segregation was based on best practice which was re-enforced by the existence of sufficient disposal systems and infrastructure.
Further, segregation was a critical condition for all entities licensed to deal in hazardous waste generated at any level which remained the responsibility of ZEMA.

6 Under the Solid Waste Regulation and Management Act, No.

20 of 2018 “solid waste” included hazardous waste which was in the form of treated sludge or other form intended for final disposal as waste.
In that sense, there was no ambiguity as to when hazardous waste was supposed to be managed under the Solid Waste Regulation and Management Act, No.

20 of 2018and when it was to be managed under the Environmental Management Act, No.

12 of 2011 The regulation of hazardous waste generated at any level was the responsibility of ZEMA.

Furthermore, the Committee was informed that local authorities could be more effective as agents for collecting e-waste at household (less than 50kg).
Local authorities should come up with by laws which would guide how e-waste at household level should be disposed of.

The laws would ensure that all companies involved in the collecting of general waste had mechanism of sorting waste to isolate e-waste from other waste.

There was also need to have a way of tasking citizens to report to the waste collector when they were disposing of any waste which could be categorised as e-waste.
That would enable recording of waste disposal which would later help to inform statistics of e-waste disposed of in comparison with what was released in the market during a particular period.
Committee’s Observations and Recommendations In line with the Auditor General and stakeholders observations, the Committee notes that there are a lot of gaps in regulations on the management of electronic waste at domestic level as waste segregation was only based on best practices whose interpretation could be subjective.
The Committee also notes that management of e-waste at domestic level could be challenging if different licensed entities are only advised to refer to best practices without an existing and specific legal framework and policy guidelines in managing electrical and electronic waste.

The Committee further notes that local authorities are present in all the districts across the country as opposed to ZEMA which is only in some provincial headquarters.

The Committee, therefore, recommends as set out here under.
i.

In order to eliminate the gaps in the regulation and management of e-waste at domestic level, the legal framework which is to be developed on the management of e-waste should cater for domestic level management of e-waste.

ii.

The Executive should capacitate local authorities in the management of e-waste at domestic level and be appointed agents in the collection of this category of waste as they are present in all the districts.

iii.
iii.

ZEMA should bring on board the local authorities through the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development in the development and enforcement of e-waste regulations at domestic level.

iv.

ZEMA should hold stakeholder engagements with all licenced entities and local authorities in coming up with implementation plans of the regulations on the management of e-waste to avoid inconsistencies in enforcement and management.
7 v. The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development in consultation with the Ministry of Green Economy and ZEMA to ensure that local authorities come up with uniform by-laws to manage e-waste.

vi.
vi.

To ease the disposal process of e-waste before the Government builds or creates designated places for disposal of e-waste, the Committee recommends that ZEMA and ZICTA should come up with a responsive call centre with a purpose assembled team in provincial centres for citizens to report e-waste needing to be disposed of which can appropriately be recorded and collected by appropriate authorities.
6.2 Non-Segregation of Waste at Household Level Audit Finding The Auditor General’s Report stated that interviews conducted with personnel in the eighteen local authorities visited revealed that waste was not separated at the point of generation.

In Lusaka, there was segregation of waste at the point of generation from the different shopping malls only, and not from the households.
The other seventeen local authorities visited did not make efforts to encourage the segregation of waste at the point of generation.
Submission by stakeholders The Committee was informed that in agreeing with audit findings, ZEMA had not been used to formulate detailed regulations that would facilitate the management of electronic waste in terms of generation, segregation, collection, handling, storage, transportation, categorisation, treatment, recycling and final disposal including the after care of e-waste disposal sites.
As such they recommended that the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment, and ZEMA in collaboration with local authorities should develop guidelines for e-waste for generation, segregation, collection, handling, storage, transportation, categorisation, treatment, recycling and final disposal including the after care of e-waste disposal sites.

However, the guidelines should be based on a policy and regulatory framework to be put in place.
Submission by the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment The Committee was informed that the provisions of Solid Waste Regulation and Management Act No.

20 of 2018, sections 62 and 63 which required ZEMA to regulate the waste management, treatment and disposal including the segregation and destruction of hazardous waste had been actualised.

That was done through the licensing of persons generating, treating or disposing hazardous waste under Part IV of the Licensing Regulations.
Each licence had a condition requiring the segregation of waste at the point of generation.

Therefore, the need for further regulations did not arise.

The Committee was further informed that the Ministry took note of the observation on the lack of segregation and that it would require a multi-sectoral approach to enforce segregation at the point of generation at household level.
8 Committee’s Observations and Recommendations The Committee in agreeing with stakeholders on the proposal to have a multi-sectoral approach in enforcing segregation of waste at the point of generation, urges ZEMA to collaborate with ZICTA for information dissemination, and local authorities for segregation and transportation of e-waste.

This should also include other licenced entities who are involved in the handling of waste at different points from generation to disposal.
6.3.0 Lack of Strategic Plans for Appropriate Authorities in E-waste Management Audit Finding The Auditor General’s Report indicated that Strategic Plans for appropriate authorities had not adequately addressed e-waste in Zambia except for the Zambia Information Communication Technology Agency Strategic Plan 2017 – 2021 that had strategies on e-waste management.
Submission by Stakeholders The Committee was informed that there was need for the Ministries of Green Economy and Environment, and Local Government and Rural Development in collaboration with ZEMA, ZICTA, local authorities and Zambia Bureau of Standards to formulate or review their strategic plans to incorporate e-waste management principles.

That approach should be extended to all institutions having a connection to e-waste management in the country.
Submission by the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment The Committee was informed that for the period 2018 to 2021, ZEMA did not have thematic strategic plans but an overall institutional output and service delivery based strategic plan.

The strategic plan was currently being revised and strategic objectives on the sound management of e-waste had been included.
In addition, the then Minister of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection promulgated the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Regulations on behalf of ZEMA in 2018.

ZEMA had since the promulgation of the said Regulations, been implementing them and encouraging all stakeholders to adhere to them.
The EPR Regulations, among other things, sought to ensure the specification of requirements in respect of the implementation and operation by producers of waste, of a waste minimisation programme, including the requirements in respect of the avoidance of waste generation, recovery, re-use and recycling.
Committee’s Observations and Recommendations In noting the submission by the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment, the Committee recommends that all appropriate authorities should include e-waste management in their strategic plans which should be revised at every expiration of the existing strategic plan without delay.
9 The Committee also urges the Executive through the Ministries of Local Government and Rural Development; Technology and Science; and Green Economy and Environment to ensure that all agencies and local authorities cited in the audit report under their respective Ministries have strategic plans on e-waste.
6.4.0 Standards for Imported Electronic Goods Audit Findings It was reported in the Auditor General’s Report that appropriate authorities did not have standards for imported electronic goods and there were no statistics to show the amount of e- waste in the country to guide policy, legal and institutional framework formulation.
Due to lack of standards on the importation of electronic products, there was a high risk that most of those imported electronic goods were obsolete and end up in Zambia as e-waste with little or no infrastructure available to deal with it properly.

That could result in adverse socio- economic, public health and environmental impacts from the toxins in e-waste.
Submissions by Stakeholders The Committee was informed that ZABS should formulate standards that would restrict the importation of poor quality electric and electrical equipment into the country.

This should be done in collaboration with ZRA and other authoritative bodies, which would in turn restrict the importation of low quality and non repairable electric and electrical equipment.
Submission by the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment The Committee was informed that the development of standards was under the preserve of the ZABS and ZICTA.

Submission by the Zambia Bureau of Standards In agreeing with the audit findings, ZABS submitted that there was need to facilitate for the development of standards in collaboration with sector regulators, to control the importation of electronic goods clearly defining collection, transportation, recovery, treatment and disposal of e- waste.
Further, the Committee was informed that there was need to intensify sampling by designated regulators and testing/evaluation of those electronic goods at the point of entry and conduct testing at designated test facilities such as ZABS electrical and solar laboratories, for compliance to requirements.

Committee’s Observations and Recommendations i.


The Committee in agreeing with the audit findings, recommends that the standards on the importation of electric and electronic goods be developed by ZABS in collaboration with 10 ZEMA, ZRA and ZICTA, in order to ensure that those electric and electronic goods which are near the end of usefulness are not imported into Zambia.

ii.
ii.

Further, the Committee urges the Executive to upgrade and capacitate the Electrical Testing Laboratory and other related laboratories at ZABS so that substandard electric and electrical equipment nearing the end of usefulness are not imported into Zambia in order to protect the environment from hazardous e-waste.
6.5.0 Lack of Facilities to Handle E-waste in Zambia Audit Findings The audit report revealed that the Ministry responsible for environmental protection and the appropriate authorities had not put in place infrastructure to manage e-waste.

There was no segregation of waste at the dump sites which were not purpose-built.

The local authorities did not have appropriate equipment to allow for segregation of waste.
Submissions by Stakeholders The Committee was informed that the Government could refer to methods adopted by other countries for efficient collection and recycling of e-waste.

Stakeholders further cited South Korea as one of the largest producers of electronics which managed to recycle 21 per cent of the total 0.8 million tonnes of e-waste that it produced in 2015.
South Korea had set up the Seoul Resource Centre (SRC) which received 20 per cent of the Seoul’s e-waste for extraction of valuable metals such as gold and copper.

The remaining 80 per cent of Seoul’s e-waste was used entirely for land filling.
Submission by the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment The Committee was informed that the Basel Convention (1989) allowed a country that did not have the technical capacity and the necessary facilities or suitable disposal sites to dispose of waste in an environmentally sound and efficient manner or to export the waste to a country with the necessary facilities.

Through the concept of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), the ZEMA encouraged reuse, recycling or recovery before considering disposal.
There were currently a number of entities and individuals that were licensed to reuse, recycle or recover e-waste.

Further, the Agency had been collaborating with cooperating partners on the construction of landfills.

ZEMA would also facilitate the setting up of e-waste management and recycling the Africa Environmental Health and Pollution Management Project facilities under (“AEHPMP”).
Submission by Ministry of Technology and Science The Committee was informed that with the establishment of an e-waste recycling company and development of the Draft E-waste Management Guidelines that had been submitted for approval, 11 some of the problems highlighted in the report would begin to be addressed, and they included the following: i. ii.

iii.

iv.

v. vi.
iii.

iv.

v. vi.

hoarding of e-waste both at household and enterprise level since this e-waste would now be channeled to the recycling company; segregation of e-waste from other types of municipal waste; indiscriminate dumping of e-waste at landfills and dumpsites; quantifying and record keeping of generated e-waste; incentivising acquisition, storage and disposal of e-waste; and provision of designated e-waste collection points.

Committee’s Observations and Recommendations i.


The Committee urges ZEMA to collaborate with local authorities through the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and other agencies such as ZABS and ZICTA through their respective ministries in the planning and setting up of e-waste management and recycling facilities.

The Committee also urges the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment and ZEMA to seek funding from the Treasury for construction of e-waste facilities.
The Ministry should further create a budget line for this activity on an annual basis until these facilities are built, starting with provincial centres in a phased manner.

ii.

The Committee further urges the Executive to ensure that various e-waste collection points are created in townships and the Central Business Districts (CBDs) in all the towns starting with provincial centres to ensure segregation of e-waste from other categories of waste.

iii.
iii.

The Committee notes that hoarding of e-waste is highly prevalent in Government institutions as they want to hold on to old equipment even when they have replaced it with advanced equipment.

The Committee is of the view that this does not only clutter up offices but also exposes workers to hazardous equipment which is no longer needed.
In view of this, the Committee urges the Executive to ensure that old electric and electrical equipment which is no longer used but serviceable because of upgrades is auctioned to the workers on a continuous basis.

The Committee further urges the Executive to ensure that each institution has in place, some guidelines on disposal of electrical and electronic equipment unlike the current practice where the equipment is kept in sheds until it becomes obsolete and hazardous to the environment.
12 6.6.0 Public Awareness on E-waste Management and Capacity Building Audit Findings The audit report revealed that the Ministry responsible for environmental protection had not conducted institutional capacity building, educational campaigns and public awareness on the hazardous effects of electronic waste to the institutions, waste handlers and the public.
The Auditor General recommended that there was need to put measures in place to raise awareness on the benefits of segregation of waste to all the stakeholders in waste management.

Submissions by Stakeholders The Committee was informed that there was need to undertake awareness campaigns to reach out to the workers of the informal sector, raise awareness about the consequence of improper electronic waste management, and include them as part of the solution to e-waste related issues.
Submission by the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment The Committee was informed that the Ministry working with ZEMA had conducted various awareness campaigns on waste management including e-waste.

Examples include radio programmes, spot advertisements and newspaper articles.

With regard to capacity building on e-waste management, the Committee was informed that there was no specific capacity building on e-waste.
However, training in waste management which included all streams of waste had been conducted for various stakeholders.

This included the training conducted with the support of the Turkish Government.

Further, ZEMA was participating in a regional project, the Africa Environmental Health and Pollution Management Project (EAHPMP), which had specific components for capacity building and institutional strengthening in the management of e-waste.
Submission by ZICTA The Committee was informed that during the 2017 -2021 strategic period, ZICTA undertook various consumer awareness activities to raise awareness on risks associated with e-waste.

In addition, the Authority facilitated ICT and postal sectoral stakeholder engagement in collaboration with ZEMA to promote e-waste management within the sector.

The engagement was preceded by an assessment of e-waste management practices among licensees within the ICT and postal sectors.
Licensees were requested to provide details on whether they had existing e-waste management measures in place.

From their findings, it was determined that a large proportion of licensees within the sector did not have in-house management practices in place.

13 Committee’s Observations and Recommendations The Committee notes the submission on how ZEMA undertook various awareness campaigns on e-waste management.
However, the Committee is of the view that more needed to be done to create awareness as most stakeholders who appeared before the Committee had not heard about the campaigns on e-waste management by ZEMA.
The Committee, therefore, urges ZEMA in collaboration with ZICTA to intensify the campaigns through mobile texting messages, television, Facebook and radio advertisements so that people are made aware of the hazardous effects of e-waste and the need to protect the environment in line with the Basel Convention (1989), which Zambia is a signatory to.

The sensitisation should also be done in local languages for everyone to understand the messages.
6.7.0 Maintenance of a Central Environment Information System Audit Finding The audit revealed that there were no holistic statistics to show the amount of e-waste transported or stored in the country to guide policy, legal and institutional framework formulation.
Stakeholders Submission by the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment The Minister of Green Economy and Environment in agreeing with the audit findings concerning the absence of a comprehensive data base informed the Committee that his Ministry working with ZEMA, was developing a centralised data base system to enhance data collection and monitoring of licensees.

The development of the data base had reached an advanced stage.
ZEMA had also engaged cooperating partners, some of whom had expressed willingness to provide support in undertaking an inventory for e-waste in the country.

Following its engagement with cooperating partners, ZEMA had since launched African Environmental Health and Pollution Management Project (AEHPMP), under which waste characterisation and review of electronic waste legislation was being undertaken.
Committee’s Observations and Recommendations The Committee notes with concern that to date, the country does not have holistic statistics to show the amount of e-waste transported or stored in the country, although the waste is known to be hazardous not only to humans but to the environment as well.
In view of this, the Committee urges the Executive through the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment and ZEMA to expeditiously conclude the development of a centralised data base system and operationalise it in order to enhance data collection and monitoring of information on e-waste from generation to disposal.
This will particularly be important in the management of e- 14 APPENDIX I – LIST OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OFFICIALS List of National Assembly Officials Mr Francis Nabulyato, Acting Principal Clerk of Committees (SC) MrsChitalu K Mumba, Acting Deputy Principal Clerk of Committees (SC) Mrs Angela M Banda, Senior Committee Clerk (SC) Mr Darius Kunda, Committee Clerk Mrs Charity K Muyunda, Typist Mr DanielLupiya, Committee Assistant 16 APPENDIX II – LIST OF WITNESSES Office of the Auditor General Ministry of Green Economy and Environment Ministry of Finance Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development Ministry of Water Development and Sanitation Ministry of Technology and Science Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources Zambia Revenue Authority Citizens Environmental and Social Concern Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit University of Zambia Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority Zambia Statistical Agency Zambia Environmental Management Agency Water Resources Management Authority Lusaka City Council Zambia Bureau of Standards 17 18